Mr. Amine Nasser

Holds a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from McGill University, Montreal-Canada; involved in Responsible Tourism and developed the SAAD Tours MAWASEM TRIPS in support of rural areas in Lebanon as part of the Discover Lebanon initiative of “SRI International”; assisted the Lebanon Ministry of Tourism in Lebanon’s official participation in major travel fairs (FITUR-Madrid, EMITT-Istanbul, ITB-Berlin, MITT-Moscow, GIBTM-Abu Dhabi, ATM-Dubai, IMEX-Frankfurt and WTM-London); acted as vice president of WATA, head of SAAD Transport, key player in the appointment of SAAD Travel as the American Express Business Travel office for Lebanon, and founding member of the Beyond Beirut.

Ms. Claude Abu Nader Hindi

Holds an MA in political Science; MTV presenter and producer since 1995 (at different intervals); newspaper editor in the Magazine and other local published media material; TV and radio presenter and producer to a big number of programs on economy, tourism…etc the most prevalent is Tahkik, still run on MTV.

Mr. Gilbert Moukheiber

Holds an MA in tourism engineering and management; has an extensive experience of 14 years in alternative and adventure tourism, believing in tourism as a means for developing rural communities reflected through his input in: 33 North as a managing director and tour operator specialized in alternative tourism and sustainable development; AREMDT as Middle East coordinator; and an advisor and consultant for different national and regional NGOs.

Mr. Ibrahim Osta

A member of the governing body of the United Nations Foundation World Heritage Alliance; Chief of Party of the USAID/Jordan Tourism Development Project II following the Siyaha project (2005-2008);Senior Policy Advisor for the Minister of Tourism & Antiquities and served as Public Affairs Advisor for the Minister of Water & Irrigation; ex- Director of the Economic Opportunities for Jordanian Youth Program (Injaz); ex-Manager of Public Affairs and Fundraising for the U.S-based Center for International Private Enterprise ;leads a wide portfolio of initiatives aimed at enhancing Jordan’s tourism including conservation and presentation of archaeological sites of Petra and Amman Citadel; manages the multi-year $12-million Business Management Initiative of USAID’s economic development project Jordan AMIR.

Mr. Karim El Jisr

President of the LMT Association (2010-2012);holds a degree in agricultural engineering; worked on conservation and sustainable development issues, specialized in environmental management and ecotourism; and ex-deputy chief of party on the USAID-funded Lebanon Mountain Trail project (2006-2008).

Mr. Khalil Harfouche

President of the Union Jezzine Municipalities in 2010,was elected for the first time in 2001 as a member of the Jezzine municipal council; appointed the head of the Tourism committee; organized with his colleagues the “Heritage Festival”;formed a group of young people introducing ecotourism activities in the region; started the development of a strategic plan containing 8 sectors, among them the tourism; recently the Union has received a donation from the EU to be used for the development of the tourism in the region of Jezzine as per the strategic plan mentioned above.

Ms. Martine Bteich

Holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration; Program Manager at ANERA Lebanon with an experience in the private and the non-profit sectors; worked on development programs in education, health and economic development, including tourism development and promotion of tourism destinations; and managed the DHIAFEE program www.dhiafeeprogram.org supporting rural tourism in Lebanon

Ms. Mona Fares

Holds key positions at the Ministry of Tourism since 1996: head of the Department of Research, Studies and
Documentation; director of the Department of Archeological and Historical sites and Museums; head of the Department
of Touristic Promotion – focusing on ecotourism as a generator of revenues and opportunities for rural Lebanon.

Mr. Nizar Youssef Hani

Majored in Biochemistry (Diplôme de Maîtrise de Biochimie) ; Scientific Coordinator and Manager of Project Development Unit of Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve and Focal Point of Shouf Biosphere Reserve; specialized in Protected areas, ecotourism, trails planning and development, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, rural products, grazing planning, and environmental awareness; highly qualified in Protected Areas Management, rural development, ecotourism, and environmental awareness projects, supervision and follow up at the local level.

Mr. Pascal Abdalla

A pioneer in responsible tourism in Lebanon; started his activities back in 1997 by promoting tourism that supports nature conservation, culture preservation and generates economic benefits to local communities. Co –founder of many NGOs in Lebanon, he is today the manager of Responsible Mobilities where Tour Operating meets with tourism research, expertise, consultancy and development in rural areas. Pascal is a university lecturer in tourism and heritage and manages a guesthouse in North Beqaa.

Mr. Richard G. Edwards

Through the firm, Ecoism, Richard helps companies and destinations integrate a socially and environmentally responsible approach to profitable tourism marketing and management. An Executive Board Member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and The International Ecotourism Society, Condé Nast Traveler cites Richard as a Top Travel Specialist for guiding strategy, messaging, CSR, product and community development programs for destinations, adventure and travel companies worldwide, such as Gap Adventures, Hilton and Discovery Channel.

Ms. Roula Ajouz Sidani

Publisher and General Manager of Cedar Wings magazine, an in-flight magazine of the Middle East Airlines; acted as a tourist consultant on several projects, served as the only female member on Beirut Municipality Council for 12 consecutive years. Currently, Mrs. Sidani is the Director of Lebanon’s Cultural Religious Tourism (CRT) Project initiated by the Office of the Prime Minister.

Mr. William M. Eichbaum

In November 1989, Bill Eichbaum joined the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a Senior Fellow. In January 1990, he became Vice President of the Environmental Quality Program of WWF, and in January 1991, Vice President of International Environmental Quality with management responsibilities of WWF’s climate change program, coastal environmental policy, energy efficiency projects within Central and Eastern European and the former Soviet Union, and global industrial policy. His responsibilities at WWF throughout the years have included managing WWF’s domestic conservation programs, congressional relations policy, Global Threats Program, Endangered Spaces Program and WWF’s Marine Portfolio. He became Vice President, Marine and Arctic Policy in March 2009